Return of the 60-day application deadline in Express Entry

Return of the 60-day application deadline in Express Entry

IRCC has announced that is going back to a 60-day deadline for receiving the application for Permanent Residence after receiving the Invitation to apply. This new deadline is effective from June 26th2018.

In an email sent out to all applicants, IRCC said that it was resuming its original 60-day limit, which had been changed to 90 days in November 2016. This move is being touted to have been taken to serve customers better.

The email that was sent out read, “With this change, we are moving back to the original timeframe as it better reflects the intended design of Express Entry as a process leading to expedited results for you, our clients.”Fast processing of applications for permanent residence has been a goal for IRCC since the Express Entry system was first introduced.

IRCC said in its 2017 year-end report that80 per cent of Federal Skilled Worker applications that year were processed in four months or less from the moment a complete application is received. By reducing the application deadline by 30 days, IRCC may see the total Express Entry process get faster.

This change will also allow IRCC to know sooner which candidates who receive ITAs are applying or declining their invitations.These benefits, however, do put additional pressure on applicants to collect documents quickly.A report published by IRCC in December 2017 said that it found that 41 per cent of Express Entry candidates who received an ITA after November 2016 took advantage of the extended deadline and submitted their application between 61 days and 90 days after receiving an ITA.Only 57 per cent of applicants submitted their complete application within 60 days.